Regulatory update: EPA orders testing on 19 chemicalsNACD Share The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published a final rule in the Federal Register to require manufacturers, importers, and processors of 19 high production volume chemicals to conduct testing on these substances in order to provide basic health and environmental effects. The chemicals are used to make fragrances, dyes, explosives, and many other products. The issuance of this final rule is the latest in a series
of actions that the EPA has taken to obtain more data on priority chemicals and to make this information available to the public.More

Regulatory update: Surface transportation board seeks input on rail competitionNACD Share In a recent Federal Register notice, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced that it will receive comments and hold a public hearing to explore the current state of competition in the rail industry, as well as potential policies to promote additional competition if appropriate. In the notice, the STB states that it has been over a decade since these issues were last examined.More

Regulatory update: EPA requests facilities to electronically report TRI informationNACD Share The Environmental Protection Agency published a notice in the Federal Register strongly recommending that facilities use the Toxics Release Inventory-Made Easy Web application (TRI-MEweb) to report and submit Toxics Release Information data to the agency. The EPA says that TRI-MEweb provides useful features to facilitate the submission process and validates data to help ensure accuracy.More

NACD staff update: Elizabeth Holcomb is new Grassroots and Political
Programs managerNACD Share NACD is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Holcomb has joined the staff as Manager of Grassroots and Political Programs. In this role, Elizabeth will manage the
annual Washington Fly-In, the Responsible Distribution PAC, the Congressional Site Visit program, and all other grassroots outreach activities. She will also represent NACD on coalitions addressing general business issues such as labor and health care.More

Registration is now open for Responsible Distribution WorkshopNACD Share Are you a new member, affiliate or candidate member? Will you be having a site verification this year? If so, you'll want to attend the Responsible Distribution Workshop, April 4-5 at the Sheraton
Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pa. This workshop will be packed with brand new sessions, topics and speakers. Registration is now open and space is limited. For more information and to download the registration form, click HERE.

EPA releases 2009 TRI data; chemical distribution has lowest average emissions per facilityThe Street Share The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its national analysis of the 2009 Toxics Release Inventory. The chemical distribution industry had the third-lowest total releases of any reporting industry, behind only the apparel and leather industries, both of whom had far fewer reporting facilities. Further, NACD members' average release was 47.6 percent lower than non-NACD members.More

Transportation and Infrastructure chairman wants to get more trucks off roadwaysJournal of Commerce Share The new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, signaling domestic transport goals similar to those of the Obama administration, says he wants to advance several initiatives that shift commercial truck loads and automobiles off the nation's stressed highways. The comments are close to some made last year by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and other DOT officials, that federal policy aims to get more
trucks off the road to better distribute U.S. transportation demand among other modes.More

Shale gas revolution in the US presents regulatory and infrastructure challengesICIS Share The recent run for shale opportunities — likened to the Gold Rush of 1849 — will result in a huge increase in the production of untapped ethane resources. But certain shale plays rich in product, particularly the Marcellus formation in the Northeast, lack infrastructure for processing or transporting ethane to chemical markets. In the next five years, additional storage could become necessary to accommodate the growing
ethane inventories, says Anne Keller, president of Midstream Energy Group.More

EPA and European chemicals agency sign agreement to enhance chemical safetyPaint and Coatings Industry Share The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) have announced a partnership that will promote enhanced technical cooperation on chemical management activities. The partnership is part of the EPA's commitment to improve chemical safety. ECHA is the agency that implements the European Union's chemical management program known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of
Chemicals).More